This blog offers a short reflection on Bible readings in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for Sundays and major Christian festivals throughout the year.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

TRIDUUM SACRUM Maundy Thursday to Holy Saturday

'Triduum Sacrum' means 'the three holy days' -- the
culmination of Lent and Holy Week. The readings for these three days are
always the same, and like the traditional liturgies, invite us to
reflect on the events of the Last Supper, the Crucifixion,
and Christ's Sabbath rest in the tomb -- the best possible preparation
for the great culmination of the Easter Vigil and Easter Day.

MAUNDY THURSDAY

The word 'Maundy' is a corruption ofthe Latin 'mandatum novum', the 'new
commandment' that Jesus gives his disciples to 'love one another'. The
tradition of foot washing that takes place on this day is a symbolic expression
of obedience to that command, and a reflection of what happened in the Upper
Room. But the main focus is on the gift of the Eucharist, which is why Maundy
Thursday has a celebratory character that the other days of Holy Week lack.

GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday is the only day of the year in which the Church
does not permit celebrations of the Eucharist lest this should detract from the
supreme sacrifice that took place on the Cross. Instead, after the story of the
Crucifixion according to John is read, people are invited to expresstheir veneration of the Cross in the physical
action of kneeling before it, and to participate once more in the Last Supper
by receiving communion from the elements consecrated on Maundy Thursday.

HOLY SATURDAY

Although nowadays Holy Saturday is often used for children's
Easter egg hunts, it ought really to be a day of quiet reflection and prayerful
waiting, ending in the Great Vigil of Easter, possibly the most ancient of all
Christian festivals.